Provide multiple outcomes from a single rule
Online shopping is a juggernaut. Consumers love it, so it will become even more entrenched as a preferred way of shopping. But online shopping presents brands with its own set of challenges. Online returns are problematic - especially so in the context of a loyalty program where brands have to deal with the complexity of awarding and deducting points.
Despite how pervasive online shopping has become, brands still want their brick and mortar stores to endure. Having a strong physical presence imbues a brand with an air of permanence, re-assuring consumers they're here to stay.
All this makes managing a loyalty problem even more difficult. Brands want their loyalty program optimized for both online and in-store shopping. But they don't want to have to manage what are, in effect, two separate loyalty programs, each with its own set of rules.
SessionM's loyalty program's functionality provides you with the flexibility to build a single rule that has multiple outcomes. For example, a single rule can handle use cases for both online and in-store shopping.
Strategy
Write flexible purchase rules that provide multiple outcomes depending on the situation.
Here's the scenario: Bindy's Boutique is a retailer with both an ecommerce site and brick-and-mortar stores. When an order is placed online, Bindy's doesn't want to issue points to members until the order has been delivered to the consumer. Online orders are often canceled in-flight, and Bindy's wants to avoid having to first add and then later deduct points from member's accounts. In store, Bindy's wants to award double points for the sales of jeans (their signature item) and 1 point for every dollar spent in the same transaction.
Let's look at how to do this in the SessionM platform.
SessionM solution
The SessionM loyalty platform enables you to forge stronger, more loyal and more profitable relationships with your members. The platform provides an integrated set of capabilities - including data management, loyalty management, offer management, campaign orchestration, and analytics & optimization - that enable you to build compelling member loyalty programs.
Key modules
The strategy described in this article uses the following modules:
Loyalty Programs
- Point banking
- Rewards for high value behaviors, advocacy and spend
- Status and tiering rules plus outcomes
- Benefits management with frictionless redemption
- Extensive tracking on point liabilities
Campaign
Orchestration
- Manage scheduled and behaviorally triggered campaigns across email, push, SMS, digital channels
- Real-time interaction management
- Rules-based promotions
- Centralized and actionable campaign analytics
See SessionM Features for a full discussion of SessionM platform features and functions.
Implementation workflow
The following procedure describes the workflow for implementing the loyalty program described in this article. The procedure captures the workflow at a high-level, providing you with a sense of the scope involved in implementing this program in the SessionM platform.
Take note
This strategy leverages Loyalty Programs module's extensible data schema, which enables you to tailor transactions to meet both current and future data schema requirements. With this new schema, you can add custom objects that add segment-specific data to your program. You can then use this custom data to build loyalty rules.
See About the SessionM transaction schema for more information.
In this scenario, online orders are not awarded points until the member has received delivery. By default, the standard transaction schema does not have a property to process the shipping status. This scenario requires a custom object. Bindy's extends the base transaction schema to include a Shipment Complete custom object. Points for online orders are not awarded until the shipment is complete.
Also, Bindy's wants to vary the number of points awarded depending on the items purchased. Jeans receive double points; all other items single points. While the legacy Economy Rules module would require multiple rules to handle this (one outcome per rule), the new Loyalty Programs module can have multiple outcomes in a single rule.
Step 1. Loyalty Program module: Define purchase rule with multiple outcomes
Assume that the Bindy's Boutique loyalty program is in place:.
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The Shipment Complete custom object has been added to the schema. See About the SessionM transaction schema for more information.
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The point accounts are set up. See What are points in loyalty programs? for more information.
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A loyalty program with three tier structure has been created. See What is a loyalty program? for more information.
The following steps describe how to define the purchase rule for this scenario and then add it to each tier in the loyalty program.
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Select the Bindy's loyalty program. Since Bindy's have multiple tiers, you are taken to Bronze, the lowest tier. You can define the rule in this tier and add it to the remaining tiers.
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Create a purchase rule in Bronze tier:
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For the rule condition, select the Purchase Event (Current) outcome. Select "the member makes a purchase" prompt. You do not need to constrain the condition.
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For the outcomes:
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Online purchase: Select the Points (Variable) outcome. Select the "shipment status is complete for online store" prompt. Set the reward to 1 point for every dollar spent.
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Jeans: Select the Points (Variable) outcome. Set the reward to 2 points for every dollar spent in the Jeans category.
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All other items: Select the Points (Variable) outcome. Set the reward to 1 point for every dollar spent on items not in the Jeans category.
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Add the purchase rule to the remaining tiers.
Step 2. Campaigns module: Define messaging campaign that explains benefits
You want your members to know about this exciting new benefit. Launch a messaging campaign that lets them know that they can earn double points for ordering jeans.
In a messaging campaign, you send targeted messages that build brand awareness among your members. Messages can include push notifications, in-box messages, activity feed messages, or external messages. Delivery options can include one-time, recurring, scheduled or triggered by a behavior. See What is a SessionM campaign? for more information.
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Select the Campaigns module and create a messaging campaign.
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Set the runtime for the campaign. For this campaign, only a single day is needed to send the notifications.
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Use the default targeting of all loyalty program members. You want everyone to know about the new benefit available to them.
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Define the messaging for the campaign. Set up both an email and a text message with a scheduled delivery method. Using multiple communication channels makes it more likely that your message is read.
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Launch the campaign. An email and text announcing the promotion is sent to all program members at the indicated time.
Analysis
Successful loyalty programs adapt and evolve. It’s crucial to determine where your program is performing well and where it needs to improve. Built on a series of intuitive dashboards, the SessionM Insights reporting & analysis tool enables you to evaluate program performance by measuring key indicators such as customer spend and customer frequency.
This strategy discusses several ways to use points in your loyalty program. Use the Incentives tab to analyze what points have been issued and how they have influenced member activity. For example, the following visual provides a breakdown of points by tier:
For detailed information on SessionM Insight features and functionality, see About Insights in the SessionM Help Center.
Key takeaways
Future proof your loyalty program with SessionM's extensible transaction schema
Nothing is constant except for change. And nowhere is this more true then in today's constantly evolving marketplace. You need a loyalty program that can adapt to meet new and changing demands. SessionM's Loyalty Programs module features an extensible transaction schema that adapts to your loyalty program's evolving data requirements.
Leverage SessionM's flexible rule-building capabilities to tailor outcomes to different situations
Rule-building engines that limit a rule to a single outcome means that you end up writing a lot of rules, which makes your loyalty program complex and difficult to manage. SessionM's Loyalty Programs module provides you with the flexibility to write a single rule that has multiple outcomes, with each outcome handling different rule qualifiers. You are not limited to a single outcome in a rule.